Quinoa stuffed peppers with cream topping

Stuffed peppers...such a quick an easy meal! Team with salad for a summer twist.

I packed my peppers with quinoa for a great texture and protein boost, but you could use rice, cous-cous, or how about cauliflower rice for a superlight veggie bite?  Add some chopped veggies, or corn to the mix along with spices of chice and you are away.

I decided to jazz things up a little further by adding the coconut flour ‘cream cheese’ topping with a savoury vibe to it for a change since I’m so used to turning it in to a sweet version. I used harrissa paste that I happened to have in the fridge which I felt added to the general Morrocan/Mediterranean feel, buit you can use any preferred spices.  I was intrigued to see how it would work out this way and also how it would handle being under the grill.

It was good! The top browned nicely whilst the ‘cheese’ topping stayed moist and creamy below, almost creating a thick creamy garnish for the peppers and salad. The flavours were good to, nice and strong which is the way I wanted it on this occasion.

For more lighter summer meals have a little look here

Recipe: Quinoa stuffed peppers with cream topping

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 large red pepper- halved

1 cup cooked quinoa mixed with spices of choice plus extra veg if desired e.g corn/tomatoes)

Topping: 1/3 cup thick basic coconut cream mixed with 1 tsp soy sauce and ½ tsp harrissa paste (or similar)

Salad leaves to serve

Method:

Oven bake the pepper halves  for 10-15 minutes at 180C until softening. Meanwhile prepare the quinoa and coconut cream topping.

Pack the cooked quinoa into the pepper halves and top with the coconut cream paste spread evenly.

Place under a medium grill for up to 10 minutes until the topping is golden.

Serve with a salad.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.
 
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

'Not as you know it' Nutella

Yes, yes I know there are plenty of 'healthy' 'vegan' nutella recipes already lurking around the blogosphere... and for good reason, who doesn't like a drippy spoonful of thick creamy chocolate?

So far I have avoided the temptation to make my own. Partly because  had concerns as to my self control once made, but also many of the recipes I'd come across had a number of time consuming steps and also many recipes also left a lot to be desired in the healthy department.

I made my first version of the 'Nutella' a week or so ago here for the Real Food Source. It was delcious and the coconut sugar gave a lovely caramelised touch.  I wanted to reinvent it again with a slight twist this time using my ever faithful date paste.

You'll notice there are no roasted hazlenutsa in this recipe, so technically its not Nutella at all...rather a chocolate almond spread. Somehow that description didn't tantalize my tatsebuds in quite the way it should! The chocolate really takes centre stage and the creamy almond paste (make your own or buy it) just brings it all together in a rich and creamy spread.

Plus if you add a little extra water you'll have an amazing chocolate drizzle sauce! Sooooo good.

Recipe: Healthy ‘Nutella’

Makes just under 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/3 cup almond paste*
1/3 cup date paste
3 tbs cocoa powder
1/3 cup boiling water

*almond paste is just blanched almond butter. Make your own or buy it for example here

Method:

Stir the cocoa into the boiling water until smooth. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until very smooth. This works best with either a smallish sized blender or double the amount (the mixture had a tendency to fling itself to the edges of my large Thermomix and I had to scrape it down a few times)

Store in the fridge. it will thicken up a little. This would also be good mixed with a little hot water and served as a chocolate drizzle sauce. You may want to add a couple of drops of stevia to add sweetness if diluting as a drizzle.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Mantra for Monday no. 72

It's now less than three weeks until my Tough Mudder Challenge.... do I feel ready? Will I ever feel ready?

Tough Mudder is a mental and physical challenge and the high walls themselves are the purest manifestation of that. It's mental grit and teamwork that see you through such challenges both on through that course in the course of life.

But all challenges in life begin with a willingness to take them on. All walls, no matter how high can be overcome when there is will.

When there is a will, there is always a way. It really depends how much you want it?

I say...Bring it on!

What is a Mantra for Monday?

Silent Sunday no. 72

What is my Silent Sunday ?

Black bean burgers and fruity cucumber salsa

Double whammy recipe post for you today! That doesn’t often happen.

I had originally thought to post as two separate recipes but then decided they’d work best together. So here you go.

The burger recipe is very similar to other bean burger recipes I’ve posted. Such as these Mexican burgers and these black bean burgers, whereas the salsa is a totally new concoction.

The inspiration for the salsa came from this post by Kathy at Healthy Happy life. It looked so simply and perfect for the BBQ I was going to at my friends a couple of weekends ago (when the weather was actually nice!) She also got me into the bean burger mindset too so then I scouted around for a new spin on the idea for those and loved this simple concept by No Meat Athlete.

This salsa is a lovely light BBQ side and my non-vegan friends were all seen adding a dollop to their plate! It’s sweet and refreshing in equal measures and it got me into a cucumber frame of mind- I have some more cucumber ideas up my sleeve for next week too!

P.S Barbequed plantains...amazing! Try them if you haven't already!

Recipe: cucumber pineapple salsa
Inspired by Healthy Happy Life

Makes approx 2 ½ cups worth

Ingredients:

1 tbs tahini (or use cashew butter)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup fresh diced pineapple (drain a little of the liquid if very wet)

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbs chopped fresh mint

Method:

Mix the lemon juice with the tahini and then mix through the cucumber and pineapple chunks, adding the sesame seeds and chopped mint last.

Serve chilled and eat within one day.

Recipe: Black bean beet burgers- mk 2

Inspired by No Meat Athlete

Makes approx 8 burgers

Ingredients:

1 onion- finely chopped

1-2 cloves garlic- crushed

1 cup sweet potato- grated

1/3 cup beetroot- grated

1 tsp oil (I used melted coconut)

1 ½ cup cooked black beans

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbs tomato puree

1 tbs fresh herbs (I used rosemary)

1 tbs ground flax or chia

1 cup cooked quinoa (or brown rice)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Prepare the black beans and quinoa as necessary and set aside (mine were already cooked and frozen so I just defrosted them).

Stir fry the onion, garlic, sweet potato and beetroot in the oil for 5 minutes until softening.

Add the remaining ingreodmets and poulse through lightly to kix but keep some chunky bits, the mixture should be sticky but hold together well.

Form into flattened patties and place on a lined baking sheet. Brush a little extra oil on each side.  Bake at 200C for approx 30 minutes until golden. Note: I baked mine for approx 20 mins and finished them off on the BBQ

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Overnight oats cookies!

Simplicity at it’s best!  

It's always good to simplify everything in life where possible...this hugely popular post was a testament to how amazing simplicity can be! 

Simplicity is most definitely where it's at. Starting with these...

I love oats, I love cookies, I love oatmeal....I want it all!  BUT I often don’t want to spend any time at all prepping things in the morning.  Particularly as of late with all the new developments that have been taking place.

It’s needs to be good to go in one quick swoop!

I think I may have an ingenious solution to that demand. The concept of 'overnight oats' saves you time in the morning (and is super healthy) so what if I made up a thick overnight oat mix, infused with chia seed to help thicken, bind and healthify things even more. Then come morning just throw it in the oven? Hmm, what would happen?

Well, I can report that you do indeed get cookies! 

To elaborate a little further I tried two version one with and one without oil, those with the oil were slightly lighter and had a crispness to the outside, though both were soft cookies and both tasted good! I would advise either eating them freshly from the oven or warming again slightly if consuming at a later time. The double bake effect also help crisp up the non-oil cookies. They were softer and a tad rubbery if eaten cold after a period of time (though I still ate them so that’s not to say they are at all bad!)

Add any mix-ins you fancy just before you dollop the cookie mix and pop them in the oven- throw in a handful or this or that. Raisins were a particular favourite for me- sweet and squashy,  I also tried choc chips and pumpkin seeds.  I kept the cookie mix only slightly sweetened for breakfast, but feel free to add a little extra sweetness to taste if desired.

Recipe: Overnight oats cookie

Makes approx 12 cookies

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup oats

1 ½ cups non dairy milk of choice

3 tbs maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)

¼ cup flax or chia

½ tsp cinnamon

--------

¼ cup melted coconut oil (optional)

½ cup mix ins- raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, seeds etc

Method:

Mix the top 5 ingredients together well in a medium bowl. Allow to sit over night (or for a few hours) the mixture should be very thick and gloopy.

Heat the oven to 180C and mix the coconut oil through the mixture along with any desired mixins. Taste the mixture and add a little extra sweetener if needed.

Dollop balls and flatten on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins until golden. The cookies will only crisp up a little.

Note: these are soft breakfast cookies but the addition of the oil will make a slightly slighter cookie with crisper edges (I also had success with ‘double baking’ the no oil version).  To achieve a crisper cookie you may try 2-3 tbs of unrefined granulated sugar instead of the syrup- note I have not tried this.

For more oaty goodness check out these recipes!

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Summer fruits chocolate frosted cake

I might sound strange making your own birthday cake. Maybe a little sad even!

But I just had so many ideas that didn’t bother me in the slightest. My friends and family had said they’d have given me a cake but were too nervous to know what to get! Oops sorry- I don’t tend to make things easy for them ;-)

I had so many ideas of my own, that just like last year, I made a birthday cake for myself...I even blew out my own candles (well I had to light them for the photo shoot!)  This year the cake came a day late. If you read this post you’ll understand why!  But hey, it was still part of my birthday weekend so it still counts!

It was the perfect cake to make for a day when I was off to eat lots of Thai food with friends.  I knew
I’d be stuffed full of lunch so this little treat was just right for a super light morning snack, and then also served again as dinner! Yep this beauty is super light and healthy. 

It’s not just a birthday cake....it would be perfect for any summer gathering or BBQ. Vary the fruits as you wish or according to the season.  My super speedy healthy frosting  also made for the perfect companion, and I added some cocoa to it for a chocolatey hit.

Remember to throw on some sprinkles. The world is always a better place with sprinkles!!

This time I've even given you a few step-by-step process shots! Hope it helps....

Summer fruit frosted cake

Makes 1 cake (size depends on size of melon)

Ingredients:

1 medium water melon (mine was approx 20cm round)

½ cup strawberries (or other fruits)

½ cup banana (or other fruits)

Approx 1 cup chocolate frosting*

Approx ½ cup vanilla frosting*

Handful of chocolate sprinkles*

Method:

Prepare the melon by slicing of the top and bottom (I sliced a larger chunk off the top so that I could have a small top layer), slice the skin off the sides to form a fairly neat round ‘cake’

Prepare the frosting. (see linked post and notes below) I prepared both together and then divided them and added cocoa to the larger portion.

Place the watermelon on it's final serving plate, and begin spreading the frosting over the surface with a palette knife or spoon. Dollop some of the vanilla round the edge of the top surface (or all over the top if you are not having a smaller top piece) place the strawberries and banana or other fruit around the edge and then position the top piece. Cover the top piece with the remaining vanilla frosting and decorate with the top with the remaining fruit.

Add sprinkles, such as these, or any types of sprinkles, seeds, nuts, cocoa.... as desired over the surface.

Serve immediately.  It will keep for a couple of days but always nicest eaten on the same day...so make sure you have a crowd (or like a lot watermelon!)

Frosting:
For frosting refer to this post (for more details) adding 2-3 tbs cocoa powder to one cup’s worth of mix. To make a thick frosting for spreading mix 4:1 yoghurt to coconut flour ratio plus vanilla extract and a few drops of stevia and drizzle of maple syrup (or other sweetener), you may need to increase the yoghurt quantity slightly for the chocolate version.

Sprinkles:
For sprinkles, I used a cocoa version of these sprinkles, also referred to here for the choclatey version.  Feel free to use whatever you like to add a touch of sweetness.

chocolate sprinkles!!

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.